y determined to lay by the mourning
they had recently assumed for the sudden death of the prince of
Portugal, the husband of the princess Isabella. In a clause of the
capitulation it had been stipulated that the troops destined to take
possession should not traverse the city, but should ascend to the
Alhambra by a road opened for the purpose outside of the walls. This was
to spare the feelings of the afflicted inhabitants, and to prevent
any angry collision between them and their conquerors. So rigorous was
Ferdinand in enforcing this precaution that the soldiers were prohibited
under pain of death from leaving the ranks to enter into the city.

The rising sun had scarce shed his rosy beams upon the snowy summits of
the Sierra Nevada when three signal guns boomed heavily from the lofty
fortress of the Alhambra. It was the concerted sign that all was ready
for the surrender. The Christian army forthwith poured out of the city,
or rather camp, of Santa Fe, and advanced across the Vega. The king and
queen, with the prince and princess, the dignitaries and ladies of the
court, took the lead, accompanied by the different orders of monks
and friars, and surrounded by the royal guards splendidly arrayed. The
procession moved slowly forward, and paused at the village of Armilla,
at the distance of half a league from the city.

In the mean time, the grand cardinal of Spain, Don Pedro Gonzalez de
Mendoza, escorted by three thousand foot and a troop of cavalry, and
accompanied by the commander Don Gutierrez de Cardenas and a number of
prelates and hidalgos, crossed the Xenil and proceeded in the advance
to ascend to the Alhambra and take possession of that royal palace and
fortress. The road which had been opened for the purpose led by the
Puerta de los Molinos, or Gate of Mills, up a defile to the esplanade
on the summit of the Hill of Martyrs. At the approach of this detachment
the Moorish king sallied forth from a postern gate of the Alhambra,
having left his vizier, Yusef Aben Comixa, to deliver up the palace. The
gate by which he sallied passed through a lofty tower of the outer
wall, called the Tower of the Seven Floors (de los siete suelos). He
was accompanied by fifty cavaliers, and approached the grand cardinal on
foot. The latter immediately alighted, and advanced to meet him with
the utmost respect. They stepped aside a few paces, and held a brief
conversation in an under tone, when Boabdil, raising his voice,
exclaime